Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 29, 1992 TAG: 9202290299
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CUSTODIAN TALKS STUDENT INTO GIVING UP HOSTAGES, GUN
School custodian O.L. Turner stood near the doorway of a Franklin County classroom Friday morning when he saw a student loading a pistol inside."I knocked on the door, and he ordered me out two or three times," Turner said.
With nearly 20 young hostages inside the room, the 14-year-old appeared to be holding all the cards.
That's when Turner decided to make a deal.
"I asked him to trade me for the children," he said. "What I did, I did for the love of the kids."
Finally, the young man relented and laid down the gun as his schoolmates ran out the door screaming.
"He just put his head in his hands and started to cry," Turner said. "I just offered to talk to the boy. I put my arm around his back."
Moments earlier, police said, the boy was in no talking mood.
As children and his teacher walked into the world geography class at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, the boy waved a .357-caliber Magnum in their direction. He told the teacher she ought to leave.
She ran down the hall to call for help. She saw Turner and told him about theboy with the gun.
Turner walked to the room, where he saw the boy loading the pistol. That was when Turner decided it was time to talk.
"I have a rapport with those kids," he said. "I was talking to him like he was one of my own children."
As a grandfather and father, Turner has learned that it is never wise to give up on children too quickly. "They're human beings," he said. "Who knows? That boy may be a future president. He may one day be a father."
While those lofty dream may come true, the boy is undergoing psychiatric evaluation at the Roanoke Memorial Rehabilitation Center.
He's been charged with brandishing a firearm and having a gun on school property.
Rocky Mount police Lt. Roy Lemons said the boy told police that the gun was unloaded when he started waving it in the classroom.
"He was in a depressed state," Lemons said.
The boy's mother told police that she had had no previous problems with him. "Nobody saw the signs," Lemons said. "He told us he didn't want to do anybody harm. He had just given up."
"It was just scary, as a friend and everything," said Robert Spear, a 13-year-old classmate. "It was shocking to know it was him. He was a good person and everything."
Judy Redding arrived at the school to have lunch with her son, Jimmy, who was in the class that was held at gunpoint. Later, as parents showed up to pick up their children, "There were a lot of tears and lot of crying," she said.
Friday night, she was more optimistic as parents met with Franklin County School Superintendent Leonard Gereau and administrators from the school.
"The staff handled it properly," she said.
Gereau said the school is trying to help the other students cope with He's OK. He's a good kid. We don't hate him. Jimmy Redding Among classmates in room with the gun-wielding boy the incident. "We'll follow up with counseling for the students involved."
While Friday's incident was the worst in the seven years Gereau has been superintendent, it is not the first time guns and student have mixed. Earlier this year, a student was caught on a Franklin County school bus with a gun in a book bag.
That and a nationwide trend toward guns in schools prompted the county School Board recently to toughen the punishment against students who carry firearms. Gereau said those sanctions may come into play because of Friday's incident.
"The School Board will review the situation and make a decision on whether expulsion is warranted," he said.
The incident mirrors a growing trend towards kids and guns. About six weeks ago, the Roanoke Times & World-News detailed growing gunplay among Western Virginia's youth.
Just this week, the national Center to Prevent Handgun Violence said in a news release that data on gun-toting by students indicates an epidemic.
"The senseless gun violence must stop," said Sarah Brady, who heads the Washington, D.C.-based research and legal action group. "The number of guns in our nation's schools and the tragedies our students are witnessing is reprehensible."
Friday night in Franklin County, most parents agreed that the solution may lie in their increased involvement with their children.
Redding, the boy's classmate, simply offered compassion.
"He's OK. He's a good kid," Redding said. "We don't hate him."
Staff photographer Stephanie Klein contributed information to this story.